Radio in the access network

Presently, there is an increasing interest in radio access as an alternative to other access technologies, because the existing radio technologies for fixed and mobile subscribers, might have advantages that make them superior to solutions based an wires for certain applications. To identify where the radio access presents potential advantages, it is necessary to identify the main parameters which define the applications, and then make a segmentation in terms of the most suitable technology to be used. This paper describes the parameters resulting from the performed analysis and a segmentation based an the Alcatel radio access solutions. Alcatel´s portfolio is based on the following technologies: TDMA point to multipoint; fixed cellular terminals; DECT; and satellite communications. The paper concludes that the radio access environment is complex enough that general technology segmentations can be misleading. Only a detailed analysis in a case by case basis will determine the optimum solution.